Golden Rules of Examination

1. Outline. The questions should be written in the lingo of the ear, not the eye. There needs to be a trial book maintained whose help needs to be taken. The entire process must look impressive and spontaneous to some extent. Maintaining eye contact is necessary. 2. Clarify. To make your questions clear, add only one new fact to each question. Compound questions invite objections. So do questions that are vague and ambiguous. 3. Build evidentiary bridges. There needs to be a connection between the witnesses one wants to present in the examination in chief. One needs to inter relate the witnesses to make it easy for the judges. 4. Employ transitions and signposts. There needs to be proper use of phrases to connect the matter in issue. Use of conjunction and transitions like “From here we move to” would help the judges understand the matter in a better way. 5. Make repetition persuasive. Repetition must be artful. There must be a repetition of things which are necessary. But such a repetition must be in such a way the opponent cannot object to the repetition. 6. Stretch the important parts. To dramatize a key point in examination in chief, learn how to "stretch-out" your questions. The things which are important should continue for a long time. At the same time, these aspects should remain fresh in the judges mind due to its prolonged nature of presentation. 7. Learn to mirror. Mirror some of the good characteristics of the witness. Adopting some of the characteristics of the witness, e.g., language, smile, tone of voice, eye-contact, etc. puts the lawyer on a better conversational level with his witness. 8. Have your foundations ready. Be prepared to authenticate and lay foundations for any exhibits that are going to be introduced to the witnesses. The goal should be smooth introduction of your tangible exhibits and a persuasive "tell and show" as you use the exhibits to add to the issue concerned. 9. Make your witness' personal knowledge clear. The non-expert witness must speak from personal knowledge. The lay witness can give lay opinion rationally based on the witness' personal perceptions. But a lay witness is not allowed to draw conclusions that call for technical, scientific, or other specialized knowledge. 10. Deflate the potential cross-examination. The examination in Chief must indirectly counter all the rebutting or all probably questions which may crop out of the cross examination. Hence one has to be cautious with the questions put forward. 12. Utilize open-ended questions for the important parts of the story. Questions starting with what, when, how, where etc are open ended questions. They help in giving a vivid description of the issue. And it also benefits the witness to answer at ease. 13. Avoid questions that suggest the answer to your witness. Leading questions should not be allowed to ask in the court, except for certain circumstances.

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